Reports: 19 killed, including 5 journalists, in Gaza hospital strike

At least 19 people have been killed, including at least five journalists, in an Israeli attack on the Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza on Monday, according to Palestinian sources.

The hospital said the victims were hit by an airstrike while on the fourth floor of the hospital in Khan Younis.

The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that emergency workers were also among the dead.

According to the Associated Press (AP), a freelance contributor for AP, Mariam Dagga, was killed.

Reuters also reported that one of its freelance contributors was killed, and another photographer working for the agency, also a freelancer, was injured.

The Arabic broadcaster Al Jazeera said one of its cameramen was among the journalists killed.

It was initially unclear which outlet the fourth journalist killed worked for. According to sources from Gaza, the fifth journalist was a freelance contributor for several Arab media outlets.

Eyewitnesses said a second attack followed, after paramedics and civil defence workers had already rushed to the scene, and video footage of the bloody incident circulated on social media.

The broadcaster al-Ghad published a video showing a group of people being hit, reportedly during the second attack.

In a statement, the Israeli military said troops had carried out a strike in the area of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis and that an inquiry into the incident has been ordered.

"The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and does not target journalists as such. The IDF acts to mitigate harm to uninvolved individuals as much as possible while maintaining the safety of IDF troops," it said.

Almost 200 journalists killed in the Gaza war

The victims of Monday's attack bring the total number of journalists killed since the start of the Gaza war to almost 200, most of them Palestinians, according to information from the Committee to Protect Journalists.

On Saturday, WAFA reported that a Palestinian cameraman had been killed by Israeli soldiers in the northern Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian Journalists' Union spoke of a "continuing Israeli campaign against journalists aimed at silencing Palestinian accounts."

Earlier in August, four Al Jazeera employees were killed in Gaza City, with Israel's military confirming the death of correspondent Anas al-Sharif.

The military said the 28-year-old was a Hamas terrorist posing as a journalist, without providing clear evidence.

Report: Israeli military chief urges Netanyahu to accept hostage deal

The Gaza war was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people and saw more than 250 taken hostage to Gaza.

Despite efforts to reach a new ceasefire, the war shows no sign of abating.

The Israel leadership has approved operational plans to launch a new campaign to seize Gaza City, despite warnings at home and abroad that the offensive would endanger the lives of the remaining hostages and the population of some 1 million living in the major metropolis.

Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir on Sunday again warned against the offensive, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire proposal to free the remaining hostages, in comments reported by Israeli media.

"There is a deal on the table, it is the improved Witkoff deal, we must accept it," Israeli television Channel 13 quoted Zamir telling commanders during a visit to a naval base in Haifa.

The military chief was referring to a proposal previously negotiated by US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, which provides for a 60-day ceasefire, during which 10 living hostages would be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

"The army has created the conditions for a hostage deal, now it is in the hands of Netanyahu," Zamir continued.

He reiterated his concern that the planned seizure of Gaza City would endanger the lives of the 20 remaining hostages believed to still be alive, some of which are thought to be held in the major metropolis.

In its official statement of the visit, the IDF only cited Zamir as saying that the army had created the conditions for the release of hostages through military pressure.

Hamas said last week it had agreed to a new ceasefire proposal, which is reportedly an adapted version of the Witkoff proposal.